Discharge head for fluid containers



April? 2?, 1937. s. E. ALLEN ET AL DISCHARGE HEAD FOR FLUID CONTAINERS Original Filed Sept. 22, 1934 llilll Patented Apr. 27, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE DISCHARGE HEAD FOR FLUID CONTAINERS Application September 22, 1934, Serial No. 745,024 Renewed July 21, 1936 19 Claims.

The present invention relates to discharge means for containers holding highly compressed fluid, such, for instance, as liquefied carbon dioxide.

Such containers are usually closed by a sealing disk which must be punctured to release the fluid. In certain discharge heads particularly as applied to portable containers, a valve is provided to control the discharge of fluid after the disk has been punctured and the puncturing means and valve are controlled by a common operating handle. Such a discharge head is shown in Patent No. 1,974,254 issued September 18, 1934, and an object of the present invention is to provide certain modifications or improvements therein.

The puncturing means specifically shown and described in said copending application comprises a tubular cutter or punch which is forced through the sealing disk axially and without turning. The

cutting edge of the punch lies in a plane normal to the axis of the punch so that when it is forced into the disk the entire cutting surface is brought simultaneously into cutting engagement with the sealing disk. The puncturing device thus acts more like a punch than a cutter. It is an object of the present invention to reduce the effort required to force the cutter into the disk by providing a punch with a helical cutting edge, that is with a cutting edge which is inclined from normal to the axis of the punch so that the disk will be penetrated with a shearing action.

As shown in said copending application, the cutting edge is preferably recessed at one side so that it will cut out a flap rather than a complete circular piece out of the disk, leaving a portion integrally attached to the disk on which the flap will hinge as it is forced outward or into the tubular cutter by the discharging fluid.

Since discharge heads of this general type are commonly used on portable containers, it is desirable to incorporate in the discharge head means for neutralizing recoil when the fluid discharges. To this end the present invention has for an object to provide a discharge head with a novel anti-recoil discharge nozzle.

A further object of the invention is to provide an anti-recoil nozzle to which a pipe or flexible conduit may be applied without disturbing any of the anti-recoil parts.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will appear in the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof and thereafter the novelty and scope of the invention will be pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing;

Figure 1 is a view in vertical section of a discharge head embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in section of the anti-recoil discharge nozzle, the section being taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and, 5

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of our improved cutter.

A portion of a fluid container is indicated at I 0 in Fig. 1. Screwed into the neck ll of the container is a fitting l2 having a discharge bore 10 M therethrough. At a suitable point the bore I4 is enlarged and threaded to receive an annular plug i 6, which carries a transverse sealing disk H. The latter is securely clamped between a collar l8 seated in a recess at the lower part of 15 the plug, and a washer IS. The lower end of the plug is peened over the washer so as to secure the latter to the plug. An annular seat 20 surrounds the bore M at the bottom of the enlarged portion thereof and upon this seat the washer 0 i9 is seated when the plug 16 is screwed home, so that the sealing disk I! normally retains the fluid in the container. To facilitate screwing the plug into the fitting, flutes 2| are formed in the inner wall of the plug to receive a wrench.

A tubular casing 23 is threaded upon the upper end of the fitting i2 and within this casing an operating member 25 is mounted to rotate. This operating member has a stem 28 which projects from the upper end of the casing and a hand wheel 21 is suitably fixed to the upper end of the stem. A packing 28 and gland 29 serves to provide a fluid tight seal between the stem and the tubular body 23. The gland 29 which is threaded into the tubular body, is adapted to bear against a shoulder 3| formed on the operating member 25, and the lower end of said member bears against an annular shoulder 32 formed in the bore of the tubular body. Thus, the operating member 25 is held against axial displacement al- 40 though it is free to rotate.

Slidable in the bore of the plug i6 is a tubular cutter 34 which is threaded at its upper end into the holder 35. This holder has a stem 36 which projects upwardly and is threaded into an axial bore 3'! of the operating member 25. A set screw 38 engages a vertical slot 39 formed in the periphery of the holder 35 and prevents the latter from being rotated when the operating member is rotated, although it permits axial movement of 50 the holder. As a result of this arrangement, rotation of the hand wheel 2'! results in feeding the tubular cutter 34 up or down as the case may be.

The bore of the body 23 is formed with a beveled annular seat 40 against which a frusto-coni- 5 cal valve portion 4| of the holder may be seated. The holder may be moved downward by rotating the hand wheel 21 so that the punch or cutter 34. will rupture the sealing disk.

5 The tubular cutter 34 has a helical cutting edge 44 so that as the cutter is forced down into penetration of the disk by the cutter at the junction of edge 44 with the wall 45 will cease when the shoulder 46 is reached. The flap thus cut out is forced up into the cutter by the outrush of fluid from container l0 and hinges on the uncut portion between shoulders 45 and 46. By making the recess shallow the wall 41 may serve as an anvil about which the flap is bent.

It will be noted that the cutting edge 44 is sharpened inwardly so that the flap cut thereby will not be of greater diameter than the inner diameter of the cutter and hence may be readily forced up into the cutter by the pressure of the fluid in the container. At the same time, because the outer periphery of the cutter 34 is of larger diameter than the cutting edge, the cut edge of-thedisk will be wedged tightly against the cutter forming a sealing fit therewith.

35 The fluid released from the container by cutting the disk will flow out of the tubular cutter through one or more ports 48 into the bore of the body 23. Thence it will flow around the valve 4| and out of a discharge nozzle 5|]! projecting from the body above the valve seat. This discharge nozzle is formed with a plurality of passages 5| through which the fluid may escape.

At the outer end of the nozzle there is a baffle plate 52 against which the jets of fluid from the bores or passages 5| impinge. The bafile 52 is spaced from the end of the nozzle 50 so that the jets are forced to turn laterally and the disposition of the passages 56 is such that the recoil of the several jets will be balanced one against another. The bafile 52 may be in the form of a head on a screw 53 which is screwed into a threaded central bore in the body of the nozzle.

The projecting portion of the nozzle 50 is provided externally with a screw thread, as shown 55 at 54, so that a pipe or conduit may be screwed thereon. Thus attachment may be made to the nozzle without the necessity of removing the baflle 52 because the latter is of smaller diameter than the outside diameter of nozzle 50 and 60 hence of the inside diameter of the pipe screwed 7 As described in our copending application, it

is preferable to keep the valve 4| slightly open so that the disk l| may serve as a safety disk to prevent bursting of the container ill by excessive pressures due to thermal conditions. The

7 disk I! is strong enough to withstand normal fluid pressures but will rupture when the pressure in the container rises above a predetermined value and the fluid may then escape provided the valve 4| is open. To maintain the valve normally in slightly open position, the hand wheel 21 is formed with an apertured boss 60 which may be brought into alinement with an apertured lug 6| formed on the tubular body 23, and a pin 62 is then passed through the two alined apertures. When the hand wheel is thus pinned at a predetermined angle with respect to the body 23 the valve 4| will be kept open. The pin must be removed before the safety disk can be ruptured intentionally. When the sealing disk has been ruptured by turning the hand wheel 27 in one direction the flow of fluid may be shut off whenever desired by turning the hand wheel in the opposite direction until the control valve 4| is closed.

While we have described a preferred embodiment of our invention it will be understood that this is to be taken as illustrative and not limitative and that we reserve the right to make such changes in form, construction and arrangement of parts as fall within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A releasing device for a fluid container having an opening and a sealing disk normally clos- 2. A releasing device for a fluid container ha vj ing an opening and a sealing disk normally closing the opening, said device comprising a hollow body having a discharge port, a tubular cutter mounted to slide axially in the body to puncture said disk and convey the fluid from the container to said port, said cutter having a cutting edge shear a flap out of the disk, and a stop limiting penetration of the disk by the cutter.

3. A releasing device for a container holding fluid under pressure, said container having an opening and a sealing disk normally closing the opening, said device comprising a hollow body having a discharge port, a tubular cutter slidable axially in the body .to penetrate the disk and convey the fluid from the container to said port, said cutter having a cutting edge in the form of a single continuous helix with a recess between the ends of the helix, means for preventing the cutter from turning so that it will shear a flap out of the disk, the recessed portion of the cutter being constructed and arranged to serve as an anvil about which the flap may be bent.

4. A releasing device for a fluid container having an opening and a sealing disk normally closing the opening, said device comprising a hollow body having a dischargeport, a tubular cutter mounted to slide axially in the body to puncture said disk and convey the fluid from the container to said port, and means for preventing the cutter from turning while puncturing the disk, said outter having a cutting edge in the form of a single continuous helix, the cutting edge being sharpened toward the inner periphery of the cutter so that the opening sheared in the disk will be of smaller diameter than the outside diameter of the cutter.

5. A releasing device for a fluid container having an opening and a sealing disk normally closing the opening, said device comprising a hollow body having a discharge port, a tubular cutter mounted to slide axially in the body to puncture said disk and convey the fluid from the container to said port, said cutter having a cutting edge in the form of a continuous single helix with a recess between the ends of the helix, means for preventing the cutter from turning while puncturing the disk so that it will shear a flap out of the disk, and a stop limiting penetration of the disk by the cutter, the cutter being sharpened toward the inner periphery thereof sothat the cutting edge will be coincident with said inner periphery.

6. A discharge head for a high pressure fluid container having an opening and a sealing disk closing the opening, said discharge head comprising a hollow body, means operable within the body to puncture said disk and release the fluid into said body, a plurality of discharge ducts opening out of the body, and a bafile arranged to intercept and disperse the jets of fluid from the ducts in oppositely balanced directions.

'7. A discharge head for a high pressure fluid container having an opening and a sealing disk closing the opening, said discharge head comprising a hollow body, means operable within the body to puncture said disk and release the fluid into said body, and a recoil-preventing discharge nozzle for the body, said nozzle comprising a plurality of discharge ducts disposed substantially symmetrically about and substantially parallel to the central axis of the nozzle and a bafiie at the outer end of the nozzle constructed and arranged to disperse the jets of fluid from the ducts in such directions as to form a balanced discharge.

8. A discharge head for a high pressure fluid container having an opening and a sealing disk closing the opening, said discharge head comprising a hollow body, means operable within the body to puncture said disk and release the fluid into said body, and a recoil-preventing discharge nozzle projecting laterally from the body, said nozzle having a plurality of discharge ducts disposed substantially symmetrically about a central axis and a bafile in the form of a central stem with a disk-shaped head spaced from the outer ends of the ducts and arranged to disperse the jets of fluid from the ducts radially to form a substantially balanced discharge.

9. A discharge head for a high pressure fluid container having an opening and a sealing disk closing the opening, said discharge head comprising a hollow body, means operable within the body to puncture said disk and release the fluid into said body, and a recoil-preventing discharge nozzle projecting laterally from the body, said nozzle having a plurality of discharge ducts disposed substantially symmetrically about a central axis and a bafiie in the form of a central stem with a disk-shaped head spaced from the outer ends of the ducts and arranged to disperse the jets of fluid from the ducts in such directions as to form a substantially balanced discharge, said nozzle being externally threaded and said disk being of considerably smaller diameter than the nozzle, whereby a conduit may be coupled to the nozzle to conduct the discharge therefrom without the necessity of removing the' disk.

'10. A releasing device for a fluid container having an opening and a sealing disk normally closing the opening, said device comprising a hollow body having a discharge port, and a tubular cutter mounted to slide axially in the body to puncture said disk and convey the fluid from the container to said port, said cutter having a cutting edge in the form of a single continuous helix.

11. A releasing device for a fluid container having an opening and a sealing disk normally closing the opening, said device comprising a hollow body having a discharge port, a tubular cutter mounted to slide axially in the body to puncture said disk and convey the fluid from the container to said port, said cutter having a cutting edge in the form of a single continuous helix and a stop limiting penetration of the disk by the cutter.

12. A releasing device for a fluid container having an opening and a sealing disk normally closing the opening, said device comprising a hollow body having a discharge port, and a tubular cutter mounted to slide axially in the body to puncture said disk and convey the fluid from the container to said port, said cutter having a cutting edge in the form of a. single continuous helix arranged to shear a flap out of the disk, there being a. blunt non-cutting edge between the ends of the helix of suflicient extent to leave an uncut portion connecting the flap to the main body of the disk.

13. A releasing device for a fluid container having an opening and a sealing disk normally closing the opening, said device comprising a hollow body having a discharge port, and a tubular cutter mounted to slide axially in the body to puncture said disk and convey the fluid from the container to said port, said cutter having a cutting edge in the form of a single continuous helix and being also recessed between the ends of the helix so that it will shear a flap out of the disk but will leave an uncut portion integrally connecting the flap to the main body of the disk.

14. A releasing device for a fluid container having an opening and a sealing disk normally closing the opening, said device comprising a hollow body having a discharge port, a tubular cutter mounted to slide axially in the body to puncture said disk and convey the fluid from the container to said port, said cutter having a cutting edge in the form of a single continuous helix and being also recessed between the ends of the helix so that it will shear a flap out of the disk, and a stop limiting penetration of the disk by the cutter.

15. A recoil preventing discharge nozzle for discharging fluid under high pressure, said nozzle comprising a body formed with a plurality of discharge ducts, and a baflie plate external to the nozzle in position to intercept the jets of fluid from the ducts and disperse said jets ofi the perimeter of the plate in oppositely balanced directions.

16. Means for discharging a high pressure fluid container including a discharge conduit and a recoil preventing discharge nozzle at the discharge end of the conduit, said nozzle comprising a body formed with a plurality of discharge ducts disposed substantially symmetrically and substantially parallel to the central axis of the nozzle, and a baflle plate at the outer end of the nozzle constructed and arranged to disperse the jets of fluid from the ducts ofi the perimeter of the plate in such directions as to form a balanced discharge.

17. Means for discharging a high pressure flluid container including a discharge conduit and a recoil preventing discharge nozzle at the dis charge end of the conduit, said nozzle comprising a body formed with a plurality of discharge ducts disposed substantially symmetrically about a central axis, and a baille external to the nozzle in the form of a central stem with a. disk shaped head spaced from the outer ends of the ducts and arranged to disperse the jets of fluid from the ducts radially to form a substantially balanced discharge.

18. Means for discharging a high pressure fluid container including a discharge conduit and a recoil preventing discharge nozzle at the discharge end of the conduit, said nozzle comprising a body formed with a plurality of discharge ducts disposed substantially symmetricallyabout a central axis, and a baiile in the form of a central stem with a, disk shaped head spaced outwardly from the outer ends of the ducts and arranged to disperse the jets of fluid from the ducts radially to form a substantially balanced discharge, said nozzle being externally threaded and said disk being of considerably smaller diameter than the nozzle, whereby a conduit may be coupled to the nozzle to continue the discharge therefrom without the necessity of removing the disk.

19. A releasing device for a fluid container having a discharge opening, said device comprising a body having a chamber therein adapted to communicate with said container, and having a port for the discharge of fluid from the container through said chamber, a valve in the chamber controlling the discharge of said fluid, said port comprising a plurality of discharge ducts, and a baflle plate external to the nozzle in position to intercept the jets of fluid from the ducts and disperse said jets of! the perimeter of the plate in oppositely balanced directions.

SCOTT E. ALLEN. JOHN ELMER RENNERT. 

